WoF Retro Recap: September 24, 1999

EPISODE #3135: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA 

Joy Halili (male): married physical therapist in the works in Polk County who knows computers (but tries not to look like a nerd) from Winter Haven, FL

Amy White: swimwear sales representative married 2 years to Matt who’s a graduate of the Univ. of Central Florida from Satellite Beach, FL

Tyler Selph: auto salesman and self-proclaimed song writer from Orlando

Round 1: SAME NAME

But Joy said an instant dud of T. Second, Amy called up $300 S, a $300 R, a $400 N, and two E’s, but she BANKRUPTed to lose $750. Third, Tyler missed w/ L. Back to Joy who took a $900 D, three A’s, a $450 B, an O, but then H for hush. Amy then said a $900 M, a $500 C pair, two I’s to clean out the vowels, and a $450 G. The near-complete board…

B A _ I N G / &
I C E / C R E A M
S O D A

She solved BAKING & ICE CREAM SODA for $1,600.

DUDS: T (Joy), L (Tyler), H (Joy)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Amy

FEATURED PRIZE: diving adventure in Hawaii aboard the Kona Agressor II worth $6,030 (HAWAII)

Round 2: PROPER NAME (PUZZLER)

Amy led the way w/ a $1,200 R pair, a $1K S duo, a $750 N trio, five E’s and an A, but then D for dud. Tyler’s second in line w/ a $900 P trio, I, $400 H and D singles, and a $5K L pair. Board…

S P A N I S H
E _ P L _ R E R
P _ N _ E / D E / L E _ N

He yelled the answer of SPANISH EXPLORER PONCE DE LEON for $6,450. The EVENT puzzler read…

_ I S C _ _ _ R _

…and he got DISCOVERY.

Joy: NOTHING/Amy: $1,600/Tyler: $9,450

Before the next round, we saw an ad playing for the Terminator 2 3D ride, and Vanna welcomed everyone back while wearing a trench coat and sunglasses.

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: Body Glove swimming gear plus a Sea-Doo worth $8,750 (WATER SPORTS)

Jackpot Round: RHYME TIME

Tyler’s first picks were a $600 N, three A’s, a $600 D, I, but then P for phooey. Joy controlled the rest of the round for a $3,500 S, E, a $500 R pair, and a $300 F.

F A I R / A N D
S _ _ A R E

He won $4,050 FAIR AND SQUARE.

SOLE DUD: P (Tyler)
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $10,850

Joy: $4,050/Amy: $1,600/Tyler: $9,450

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Round 4: THING

Joy just missed the biggie and had to settle for a $600 T, then after an A and a $700 R…

_ A R _ _ _ / _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ T _ _ _

…consonants were worth $600 in Speed-Up mode (Pat just missed the biggie just like Joy).

Joy: S (DUD)
Amy: N
Tyler: 4 L’s
Joy: 2 B’s
Amy: W (DUD)
Tyler: 2 C’s

B A R B _ _ / _ _ L L
C _ L L _ C T _ _ N

Tyler won $3,600 towards maybe buying a BARBIE DOLL COLLECTION.

DUDS: S (Joy), W (Amy)

FINAL SCORES
Joy: $4,050/Amy: $1,600/Tyler: $13,050

GT: $18,700
BANKRUPT TRASH: $750

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Bonus Round

Tyler picked the L from -HEEL.

Category: THING

Nice RSTLNE head start…

_ _ N _ E R T _ _

DPGO added two more…

_ _ N G E R T _ P

He got the answer on his FINGERTIP for $25K and a final all-cash total of $38,050. His wife and sister greeted him.

(NOTE: Whenever the $25K gets won on this road trip, we see a video of the evil Dr. Doom stealing the money from Vanna, and Wolverine came to her rescue and took it back.)

MY RATING: 7

WoF Retro Recap: September 23, 1999

EPISODE #3134: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA 

Mary Ibbie Moultrie: 4th grade teacher at Maxey Elementary and church worker from Clermont (Pat mistakenly said California instead of Florida)

David Wilson: programmer analyst for a casual dining company married w/ two kids from Poinciana

Jessica Salvatore: student at Daytona Beach Community College planning to go to University of Central Florida from Daytona Beach (orig. from Yukon, PA)

Round 1: PEOPLE (PUZZLER)

A $1K R sent Mary on her way, followed by an $1,800 S pair, an E, but then L for loss. David also missed w/ G. Jessica then picked a $1,200 M pair…

S _ _ M M E R S

…she solved SWIMMERS. For the $3K bonus, here’s a THING puzzle for her…

_ _ C K _ T _ O K _

She IDed the swimming move as BACKSTROKE at the last second, so that was a $4,200 round for her.

DUDS: L (Mary), G (David)

FEATURED PRIZE: trips to Latin Quarter at Universal Studios Citywalk and the Dominican Republic for 5n worth $3,200 (LATIN QUARTER)

Round 2: CLASSIC TV

David’s first w/ two S’s for the Free SPIN (he laid it down on his arrow instead of the railing), a $1,650 N trio, a $600 T, and three E’s, followed by a $300 H, a $700 M, I, but then LaT and he used the FS. That proved to be a waste, because he bought the sole dud vowel of U. Moving on to Jessica who said a $1,200 G pair, two A’s, but then repeated the I. Mary followed w/ a $1,200 R quartet, a Y for the trip wedge, but then C for CRITICAL DUD. Afterwards…

G I N G E R
M A R Y / A N N     &
T H E / _ R _ _ E S S _ R

…David solved GINGER, MARY ANN & THE PROFESSOR of “Gilligan’s Island” fame for $2,500. And he had a chance to win a $2K bonus just by answering the following question…

What was the name of the charter boat that they went out on?

He was correct w/ the S.S. Minnow.

DUDS: U (David), C (Mary)
SOLE LaT: David
SOLE DQ: Jessica’s I repeat

Mary: NOTHING/David: $4,500/Jessica: $4,200

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: Global Electric golf car worth $7,890 (WHEELS)

Jackpot Round: BEFORE & AFTER

After a null cycle to start this round, Jessica said an instant dud of R. Mary’s second in line w/ a $600 N pair, a $1,600 D duo, two A’s, but then the sole dud vowel of I. David also missed w/ F, so we’re back to Jessica who lit up a $250 L but BANKRUPTed near $250 just as quick. Mary then said four T’s for $1,800, four O’s, an $800 H pair, E, and a $450 V. Board…

T O / H A V E
A N D / T O / H O L D
_ _ T T O N

There’s no such thing as a TO HAVE AND TO HOLD BUTTON, but she solved for $4,250.

AIRED DUDS: R (Jessica), I (Mary), F (David)
SOLE AIRED BANKRUPT: Jessica
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $8,950

Mary: $4,250/David: $4,500/Jessica: $4,200

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Round 4: PLACE

(NOTE: Oddly enough, the second BANKRUPT was not used even though this round started as a “regular” round.)

First from Mary were a $400 N, a $350 R and an E, but it’s Speed-Up time…

_ _ _ _ E N _ R
_ _ _ _

…and the remaining consonants were worth $5K! And the player who solved this one would win the game no matter what because of the $500 house minimum.

Mary: T (DUD)
David: D (DUD)
Jessica: L (DUD)
Mary: 2 S’s
David: P
Jessica: H

S _ _ _ E N _ R
S H _ P

Jessica’s won $5K and the game for maybe going to a SOUVENIR SHOP.

DUDS: T (Mary), D (David), L (Jessica)

FINAL SCORES
Mary: $4,250/David: $4,500/Jessica: $9,200

GT: $17,950
BANKRUPT TRASH: $250

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Bonus Round

Jessica took out the W envelope.

Category: THING

Two N’s (one on each end) pop up first…

N _ _ _ _ N

PGMI added two more…

N _ P _ I N

She instantly got NAPKIN for the pair of Dodge Neons worth $28,240 and left w/ a final total of $37,440 cash & cars. The guy greeting her was her friend David.

MY RATING: 6

WoF Retro Recap: September 13, 1999

EPISODE #3126: GREAT GETAWAYS

Kicking off the second week were…

Regina Cobb: worker for a large telecommunications company married to Sean for 4 yrs. who played indoor soccer from Edmond, OK

Ron Carter: 17-year veteran for the LAPD married to Kay w/ five kids and three granddaughters from Valencia, CA

Ed Bailey: senior at the University of New Haven who studied hotel restaurant management and worker for a major all-suites hotel chain from East Haven, CT (Pat mistakenly said “New Hetticut”)

Round 1: BEFORE & AFTER

Regina kicked things off w/ a $600 T, a $500 N pair, a $500 L pair, but then LaT. Second, Ron called up a $900 R trio, but then A for awful. Ed also missed w/ H, so we’re back to Regina almost immediately. She bought an O and picked a $400 G before we looked at…

_ _ L _ N _ _ / _ _
G O L _ _ N
R _ T R _ _ _ _ R

She said “SILENCE IS GOLDEN RETRIEVER” for $1,750.

DUDS: A (Ron), H (Ed)
SOLE LaT: Regina

FEATURED PRIZE: SONY home entertainment system plus WebTV worth $2,899 (WEBTV)

Round 2: THE 70’s (PUZZLER)

This round’s all Ron — a $1,400 T pair, a $600 H, four E’s, a $600 S pair, A, an $1,800 L pair, and a $400 P.

A L L / T H E
P _ E S _ _ E _ T ‘ S
_ E _

He solved “ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN” for a $4,300 PR. This Puzzler fell under the category of EVENT…

_ C A _ D A _

…but he didn’t remember the Watergate SCANDAL back then.

Regina: $1,750/Ron: $4,300/Ed: ZIP

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: 12d tour of Italy from Collette Tours worth $7,900 (ITALY)

Jackpot Round: PHRASE

Ed BANKRUPTed near $250 after starting w/ a $300 R. Regina secondly tried a $750 T trio, a $450 H, a $1,200 S pair, two A’s, a $900 N, but then L for loss. Ron thirdly picked a $600 Q and a V on Jackpot…

T H A T ‘ S / A
V _ R _ / _ _ _ _
Q _ _ S T _ _ N

…but he blew the $8,400 Jackpot solve w/ THAT’S A VERY HARD QUESTION, not counting the H, A’s, and R carefully. He tried to start again, but Pat didn’t allow it since he gave a full answer. Ed then lit up the last consonants of a $300 G, a $300 D, and a $400 Y.

T H A T ‘ S / A
V _ R Y     G _ _ D
Q _ _ S T _ _ N

He made the $1K solve w/ THAT’S A VERY GOOD QUESTION.

SOLE DUD: L (Regina)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Ed
SOLE DQ: Ron’s blown solve
UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $9,400

Regina: $1,750/Ron: $4,300/Ed: $1K

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Round 4: AROUND THE HOUSE

First up for Regina were a $600 R pair, four T’s for another $2,200, but the L failed her again. Ron then said four N’s for $1,800 and an A. Board…

_ N T _ R T A _ N _ _ N T
_ _ N T _ R

He remembered that the first featured prize offered this night was an ENTERTAINMENT CENTER.

SOLE DUD: L (Regina)

Regina: $1,750/Ron: $5,850/Ed: $1K

Round 5: PEOPLE (only seven letters in this one-liner)

Ron’s first w/ a $300 S, an N for the Italy tour, but then a worthless vowel of O. Ed also missed w/ H. Regina next said a $400 L, bought an A, but then said M for mistake. Ron spun just as the Speed-Up bells sounded, and he was permitted to complete this turn, but he repeated the H anyway.

_ A L _ – _ N S

The two remaining consonants were worth $900 each. Ed said the W…

W A L _ – _ N S

…and solved WALK-INS.

DUDS: O (Ron), H (Ed), M (Regina)
SOLE DQ: Ron’s H repeat

FINAL SCORES
Regina: $1,750/Ron: $5,850/Ed: $1,900

GT: $9,500
BANKRUPT TRASH: $300

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Bonus Round

The non-$25K prizes this week were trip and vehicle combos…

• New Hampshire plus Saab ($39,100+)
• Quebec City and Mercedes-Benz ML320 ($44K+)
• Seattle and boat (nearly $31K)
• Vermont and Ford Mustang coupe ($21K+)

Ron chose the W.

Category: PLACE

Two L’s and a T to start this one-wordy…

_ _ L L T _ _

After mistakenly saying N, he settled for DBCO and that will only add the vowel…

_ _ L L T O _

He was stuck on the -TON ending, so he didn’t solve HILLTOP for the Seattle/boat combo.

MY RATING: 3

WoF Retro Recap: September 6, 1999 — SEASON 17 PREMIERE

Another side project of mine begins. Let’s turn back the clock just over 20 years ago to the very end of the 1990s. Lots of notes on this season according to the timeline…

• Harry Friedman was promoted from co-producer to co-executive producer w/ the late Merv.
• Pat noted twice on the season premiere that the pegs were upgraded on the Wheel. These make the Wheel spin very tightly and loudly.
• The contestants’ arrows are slightly redesigned to have a more curved appearance on each side.
• Throughout this season, most two-word bonus puzzles were displayed on only one line instead of the usual two.
• This was the only season to have a Preview Puzzle before the start of the show (they first appeared during the week of October 4).
• Also on the week of October 4, the three $250 spaces on the Wheel were replaced. The orange-yellow one became $500, the purple one became $600 and the orange one became $800. With these upgrades, $300 was the minimum value, which remained until Season 31. Furthermore, $1,000 was added to whatever Pat landed on in the Final Spin.
• This was the second and other season to have Puzzler Rounds (they first appeared in the previous season). Whoever solved the main round puzzle got a chance to win $3K in bonus money by solving another puzzle related to the one s/he just solved.
• Presumably by the week of October 4th, the value of the bonus categories was increased to $3,000.

EPISODE #3121: ENDLESS SUMMER

The first contestants of S17 were…

Spencer Rice: worker for Oklahoma’s largest soft drink bottler who did some play-by-play radio for high school married w/ one daughter, a son-in-law and two grandchildren from Guthrie, OK

Brenda Ball: lawyer who’s been out of law school for nine years and also worked in film originally from New Orleans

Eric Larson: lawyer married to Linda w/ a 2-yr.-old daughter Lane who sometimes gambles from San Diego

Round 1: OCCUPATION (PUZZLER)

This was the last season to have $1,000 as the top-dollar value in this round.

This round was all Spencer — a $1,200 T pair, a $1K S, two I’s, a $600 R, and two E’s.

R E _ E _ T I _ _ I S T

He solved RECEPTIONIST for $2,300. And here’s the Puzzler for him (THINGS)…

_ E S S _ _ E S

He got MESSAGES w/ one second left, and that PR was worth $5,300 to him.

FEATURED PRIZE: Women of Water surfing package (SURF) worth $2,500

Round 2: CLASSIC TV

Brenda got started w/ five N’s for $1,500, four T’s for another $1,200, three $250 S’s and an E, but then L for loss. Second, Eric got the Surf package w/ two G’s, a $300 J, and a $2,700 R trio. Board…

T _ E / T _ N _ G _ T
S _ _ _ / S T _ R R _ N G
J _ _ N N _ / _ _ R S _ N

He solved “THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON” (Nowadays, Jimmy Fallon stars in this.) for $5,500 cash & surf package.

SOLE DUD: L (Brenda)

Spencer: $5,300/Brenda: NOTHING/Eric: $5,500 cash & surf

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FEATURED PRIZE #2: St. James’ Club in Antigua worth $5,536 (labeled WEST INDIES)

Jackpot Round: PHRASE

This round’s all Eric — five S’s for $3,500, two E’s, a $900 T, five I’s and A, and an $1,800 N pair.

I T ‘ S / A
_ _ E S S I N _ / I N
_ I S _ _ I S E

He said “IT’S A BLESSING IN DISGUISE” for $5,450 — PR #2.

UNCLAIMED JACKPOT: $7,500

Spencer: $5,300/Brenda: NADA/Eric: $10,950 cash & surf

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Round 4: AROUND THE HOUSE (NEW CATEGORY ALERT)

But Spencer said an instant dud of S for sorry while on $5K. Brenda secondly filled in an $1,800 N pair, but LaTed out. Third, Eric BANKRUPTed out near $250 on the spot. Back to Spencer who lit up a $250 G, bought two I’s, and also BANKRUPTed out in the same spot. Brenda next tried a $600 R pair, but then T for trouble. After Eric missed w/ H, Spencer lit up an $800 W…

W _ _ _ – _ _ R N I N G
_ I R _ _ _ _ _ _

He nailed WOOD-BURNING FIREPLACE.

DUDS: S (Spencer), T (Brenda), H (Eric)
SOLE LaT: Brenda
BANKRUPTS: 2 (men)

Spencer: $6,100/Brenda: NO LUCK/Eric: $10,950 cash & surf

Round 5: FICTIONAL CHARACTERS

Brenda’s possible last chance to score began w/ a $1,200 T pair, a $400 S, a $900 H, two E’s, but then N for negative. Eric BANKRUPTed next to $500 after filling in an $1,800 P pair. Spencer then said the last consonant of M on $5K…

T H E
M _ P P E T S

…he IDed THE MUPPETS for said amount. The game ended right there so he came back to win the game by $150.

SOLE DUD: N (Brenda)
SOLE BANKRUPT: Eric

FINAL SCORES
Spencer: $11,100/Brenda: INSTANT PARTING GIFTS OF SEASON/Eric: $10,950 cash & surf

GT: $22,050
BANKRUPT TRASH: $1,800

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Bonus Round

Here’s the first set of prizes available in Bonusland on premiere week besides the $25K…

• Mitsuibishi Eclipse convertible ($29K+)
• Jeep Wrangler Sport and Kawasaki Jet Ski 1100 ZXI ($31K+)
• Trip to Puerto Rico ($15K)
• Honda CR-V w/ tailgating necessities ($18K+)

Spencer chose the first E.

Category: THING

Two L’s to start this one-wordy…

_ _ L L _ _ _

CDMO added a couple more…

_ _ L L D O _

…but this BULLDOG chewed up the $25K he would’ve won.

MY RATING: 6